Postage-stamp affixer.



-Y ally actuated to a iple'te machine.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIOE.

FRANK w. ,oIIERRY, or DES MOINES, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALE To D. W.

- IIEATII, .or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11,2, 19o?.

Application filed July 31,1905- Serial No. 271,958.

`erators hand and to be'placed to position on a'letter to be stam edand to be automatica stamp to said letter. A further object is to provide a paper web composed of continuous marginal strips and stamps separate from the body of the web by rows of perforations, so that the stamps majr be quickly and easily removed from the web by a pressure upon one side of the stamp of sufficient force to tear the stamp from the web along the rows of pei'forations.

My invention consists in the construction,

\ arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichl Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the com- Fig. 2 shows a vertical central sectional view of same. Fig. 3 shows a {sectional view on the indicated line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 shows a detail sectional view I I' cate the frame of the machine.

after the stamps have been detached, and Fig. 5 shows a plan view of the web to illustrate the arrangement of the perforation's therein.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference-numeral to indi- This frame comprises abottom, sides, and a top, and it supports all of the operative parts of the device. Formed in the bottom near the cem er f the frame 10.is an opening 11 of substantially the same size as a postage-stamp. The sides of the frame are provided with slots 12 to receive the plunger, which plunger comprises a metal strap oblong in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 3, and comprising sides 13, o. bottom 14, and a top 15. Secured to the bottom 14 by means of the screws 16 is a plunger-block 17, with a notch 18 extending around its lower corner. The under surface of said block between the-notches is designed l to pass through the opening 11, said notch forming a shoulder to engage the top of the bottom piece of the frame surrounding the opening 11. On top of the plunger 13 is a handle 1'9, connected with the top piece 15 by means of a screw 20, which screw also serves asfa support for anextensible coilspring 21, the lower end of which rests upon the top of the frame 10. In this way the plunger is normally held in its elevated position.

Supported at one end of the frame 10 is shaft 22, detachably connected with the frame and held in position in the frame by a spring-hook 23, said shaft designed to receive a web of paper, as will hereinafter appear. The means for determining the distance the web of paper is advanced upon each movement of the plunger comprises a rotatable u' shaft 24, mounted inthe frame 10 directly below the handle 19 and havingits ends projected through slots in the sides 13 of the plunger. lFixed to the center of the shaft is a wheel 26, formed with teeth 27, spaced apart at equal distances. Fixed to one'end of the shaft 24 is a ratchet-wheel 28, engaged.

by a spring-actuated pawl 29, carried by the plunger, so that during each downward Inovelment of the plunger the pawl 29 will engage and rotate the ratchet-wheel 28. Fixed gto the other end of the shaft 24 is aratchet-wheel 30, engaged by a spring-actuated pawl 31.

Fixed to the adjacent side of the plungerby-- j -f meansv of these pawls, it is obvious that a downward movement of the plunger will cause" the shaft 24 to be rotated a distance corre'- sponding to one space Vof the ratchet-wheels 28 and 30. In the present instance these` ratchet-wheels have four teeth, and hence4 they will be turned one-fourth of a revolution on each movement of the plunger.

Mounted in the machine-frame' beneath the :draft 22 is a guide-roller 32. Adjacent to'V tl us guide-roller I have formed in the bottom 'of the frame a slot 33, and in the sides of the frame adjacent to the slot 33 the slots it is than held' The numeral 42 indicates a shaft rotatably oppositel mounted in the frame 10 at the end from the shaft 22. This shaft may be clamped 'to the frame: 10 -by means of the thumb-nut 43, screwed to one end thereof to engageA the adjacent side of the frame 10. Rotatably mounted upon the shaft 42 is a hollow drum 44, and coiled upon the shaft 42 Within the drum 44 is a spring 45, one end of which is xed to the drum and the other to the shaft. On the periphery of the drum is a wire loop 46, designed to receive and hold the end of a paper web. I have provided for adj usting the tension of the spring 45, as follows: Fixed to the-shaft V42 is a ratchet-wheel 47,

engaged by a pawl'48 on the machine-frame to preivent ackward movement of the ratchetwhee I have arranged the postage-stamps for `use inconnection with my machine as follows: I have provided a continuous narrow paper web of a width substantially greater than the' width of a postage-stamp.. Formed in this web is a vseries of longitudinal perforations 49 to form continuous margins 50, and the space between the margins is divided by cross-rows of perforations 51, thus forming the stamps 52. In the margins 50 are the perforations 53 for pur oses hereinafter made clear. It is to be un erstood that one side ol' the pa er web is gummed in the usual manner and a jacent to the gummed surface is the second pa erweb 54, formed of material that will not a here to the gummed surface.

In practical use I irst roll upon the shaft 22 a web consisting of two layers, the one comprising the stamps and the other the part 54. I then place t e roll in the frame, as shown in the drawin s, and ass the end of the web comprising t e two ayers first over the Wheel 26, with the teeth 27 thereof projecting through the openings 53, then under the directing-roller 32, then under the roller 40, then under the roller 41, and finally I secure the end of the web to the loop 47 of the winding-drum. I provide for moistening the gummed surface of the stamps by lacing the absorbent-roller 39 in position between the rol'lers 32 and 40 and so arranged that the stamps will bearupon the said absorbent-roller. The teeth 27 of the wheel 26 are so arranged with relation to the stamps that during each downward movement of the plunger the web will be advanced just the distance of'one stamp length, so that at all times a stamp in the web will be accurately centered over the opening 11 in the bottom I V" .f .a

the web and force through theopening 11 and place it iirmly A The spring-actuated wmdingdrum -will always hold the vweb stretched tautbetween the rollers 40 and 41 of v the machine-frame.

above the opening 11.

When the plunger is moved downwardly,

the stamp downwardly upon an envelop or other article upon which -the machine-frame is resting. At the same time it will tear the stamp from the web along the rows 'ofiperforations The Weba will not be torn loose, because it isnot provided with perforations, Then when ,the

plunger is elevated by the spring 21 the c.

wheel 26 will be rotated sufficient to advance the web one stamp-space. The web will be then wound upon the -drum 44 to keep stretched tight across thetop of the opening 11. Hence all the operator need do is to grasp the handle 19 and move the machine bodily to position adjacent toenvelops orarticles to be stamped, and when the machine is placed on an article to be stamped the 01perator simply presses downwardly upon t e handle, thus completing the operation of? tearing the stamp loose from the web and affixing it to the article and advancing the web one stam -space. If at any time the moistening-roller becomes dry, it may be quickly and easily removed and again remoistened and replaced without interfering with the other parts ofthe machine,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is-v 1. In a stamp-aflixer, the combination ofa. frame, a plunger therein, a roller having proj ections thereon actuated by a'movement of the plunger, a loosely-mounted roller, a s ring-wound roller and a web wound upon the loosely-mounted roller, said web formed with perforations to receive the projections on the roller, said web wound upon the loosely-mounted roller, passed around fthe roller with projections and having said .projections extended through the openings thereof, and Wound upon and attached tothe spring-wound roller.

2. In a stamp-aflixer, the combination of a frame, a web-supporting roll, a web-directing roller, a sprin -actuated web, winding devices and an a sorbent moistehing-.roller arranged adjacent to one of the directing-rollers 1n such manner as to have a web yieldingly held against it bythe spring-actuated web-winding device.

` 3. In a stamp-afiixer, the combination of ,a machine-frame formed with an opening vin its bottom, a spring-actuated plunger movable to and from said opening, a web-supporting roller, a driving-wheel formed with web-engaging teeth mounted in the machineframe, means actuated by the plunger for rotating said web-driving wheel a certain predetermined distance upon each movement of it will engage the top of IOO the plunger, web -directing rollers and a spring-actuated Web-Winding device.

l 4. The combination of a machine-frame, comprising sides, top and bottom, said bottom formed with an opening, a roller for supporting a paper Web -Adetachably mounted in the frame, aplunger comprising sides, top and bottom vertically movable relative to the machine-frame, a plunger-block ixed to the bottom thereof and designed to pass into the opening in the bottom of the frame, an extensible coil-spring interposed between the top of the machine-frame and the top of the plunger, a driving-Wheel mounted in the machine-frame between the sides of the plunger, ratchet devices connected with the plunger directing-roller in the machine-frame on the opposite side of the opening in its bottom and' a spring-actuated Winding-roller to receive a web.

FRANK W. CHERRY.

Witnesses;

J. RALPH ORWIG, JULIA B. SMUTNEY. 

